Ramblings from the Desert

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Thursday September 18th

Well it is the weekend here again- a hazy day but the wind has got up and it is rumoured that we will have a sand storm.I have not been out again today as it is very sticky and unpleasant- my room overlooks a tiny building site where a couple of labourers are building something and Ian and I keep trying to guess what. It is taking them ages- Ian watched their labours last time he was here- it is in complete contrast to the vast building sites all round the Emirates where the scene is constantly changing at great speed.
What concerns me is that one of the labourers actually lives on the site and in the evenings he settles down on a wooden plank and goes to sleep. This makes me slightl uncomfortable in my five star luxury although it could be said that he may well be better off doing that than he was at home and that perhaps the money from his daylight labours plus that of nightwatchman are sent back to his family at home.

Accomodation has been upmost on my mind- Ian's colleagues move into the villa near the airport tomorrow so it will be just Ian and I here now. It had been thought by the client that Ian's colleagues and ourselves would share the three bedroomed villa but Ian's company pointed out that it was in our contract for a two bedroomed property and that us sharing was not an option.I look forward to going over to visit them , however, to use their washer dryer!!

The news in the paper is all about accommodation too and puts my worries into perspective. There was a letter from a small builder- (bigger than my friends across the road)who is complaining that there is no cheap accommodation for labourers and that the labour camps are too expensive. I know that there is a lot of room sharing and that space is at a premium. There was a big fire in Abu Dhabi yesterday in a multi storey block of flats on a main road- it transpired that an illegal wooden shack had been built on the roof and the fire had started there. Apparently it is a big problem with people subdividing rooms and enclosing the balconies on flats trying to gain extra space. A Sudanese family of five were about to be evicted from their one bedroomed flat which they pay £350 a month for and they are unable to get anything else as one bedroomed properties in Abu Dhabi cost £17,000 a year-rent payable in advance.

So I think I had better count my blessings and be grateful but I still find the contrast between the excess of the good things in life enjoyed by some and the struggle so many have still it is nothing in comparison to India's problems although the way things are out there at the moment I don't think I will be allowed to go on the next trip in a couple of weeks.
It is hoped that the price of oil coming down will bring the inflation down under control and with it the high bottled gas and food bills which have shot up over the last few weeks.
I don't know what we are going to do for Ian's day off- the others are going to use the car to get to their villa tomorrow and get their shopping in- reality will kick in tomorrow for them- meanwhile I am trying to avoid afternoon tea which if I am not quick will appear at my side as if by magic and they are so disappointed if I refuse anything so I think a trip down to the gym would be a better plan.

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